


Intelligent Design

by cerise



Category: House M.D.
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-05-03
Updated: 2006-05-03
Packaged: 2017-10-17 11:15:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/176282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cerise/pseuds/cerise
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After that faith healer in that one episode ends up being not so miraculous, Chase, Cameron and Foreman discuss the divine. Sort of a missing scene from "House vs. God."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Intelligent Design

"It's Occam's razor," Cameron says, through a mouthful of Chef's Salad. "The simplest answer is usually the best one. And when you ask if there's a God, the simplest answer is – no.We live and we die and it's all random and there's no ghost in the sky controlling it all. It's the only intelligent conclusion."

Chase considers this. "I totally disagree. To say that's the simplest solution is absurd. It's not simple at all – it requires ignorance on a literally cosmic scale. Not to mention it's depressing. It makes everything everyone does utterly pointless."

"It's not _pointless_." She leans back in her chair. "It just... takes more work to find meaning."

"Well, I lean more toward Pascal's wager. You have nothing to lose by believing that there could be something more out there... someone behind the wheel of it all. And if you're wrong at the end of it all, well, you're none the wiser. You're six feet under by then; what do you care? But if you're right, then you've erred on the side of caution. _That's_ the only intelligent conclusion."

"It's not intelligent. It's intellectual cowardice," Cameron shakes her head. "It lacks any strength of conviction. Theism as spiritual insurance – it's just mindless. If there is a God – which there's not – do you really think he'd want you to believe in him _just in case_?"

A sullen pause. "That's not what I meant."

"Sure, it is." Cameron shrugs. "If you're going to buy into the idea of a supreme being, you might as well throw out any doubts and believe without reservation."

Chase smiles a little at that. "Impossible. You always have doubts, no matter how sure you are. That's why faith exists."

"Faith exists because people lack coping skills to reassure themselves in times of emotional crises."

Chase throws his fork down onto his plate, ignoring Foreman's quirked eyebrow. "Oh yeah? I'm guessing House disagreed with you. Just to get on your nerves."

A high blush colors her cheeks, and Chase grins in triumph. "No, House agrees with me on the faith and reassurance thing. But he said," Cameron says pointedly, "That the only intelligent thing is to admit that we just can never know if there's a God or not, and anything beyond that is arrogance, and that he didn't really care anyway and I should just go do my job and stop bothering him." She pauses, frowns. "He didn't really seem to want to talk about it in detail. But frankly, I don't disagree with him."

"Now _that's_ cowardice."

"Yeah? Let's hear you say that to his face."

He blurts out, to cover the growing silence that ensues, "What about you, Foreman? What's your take on all of this?"

Foreman glances at both of them, expression unreadable, wiping his mouth with his napkin. "I think the most intelligent thing," he tells them, "Is to stay the hell out of this conversation."


End file.
